good morning. breaking news -- pro gadhafi forces carry out air strikes on the opposition in libya as the obama administration prepares to launch a new investigation into the bombing of pan-am flight 103. did gadhafi order the strike that brought the plane down? gas prices up 20 cents in the last week alone. there are fears that could put the brakes on the economic recovery. taken away. authorities remove charlie sheen's twin boys from his home

overnight? why did they do it and how does he feel about it? charlie sheen speaks out in a live interview today, wednesday, charlie sheen speaks out in a live interview today, wednesday, march 2, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm meredith vieira. this morning the problems facing actor charlie sheen just got more serious and more personal. >> a lot of people have been following the story. well, the los angeles police department sent officers to his los angeles home last night and they took his twin boys. this after their mother, sheen's estranged wife brooke mueller filed a temporary restraining order. what does charlie sheen have to say about it? is he concerned his comments about his life could cost him his children?

we'll ask him in a live interview coming up? >> also at fashion week in paris, christian dior fired john galliano after videotape shows him making antisemitic remarks. >> and in libya, an escalation in forces loyal to moammar gadhafi. jim maceda is in tripol good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. there are fresh reports today of intense fighting in the east with an oil installation changing hands by the hour. it could be the sign of a long protracted conflict. the uprising in tripoli has gone to ground. there have been no protests here for days, not since security forces dispersed a crowd of several hundred with live fire. increasingly, security experts say, it will be on the battlefield where any break in the standoff will come. in the rebel camps, spirits

remain high in zawiya after opposition forces who had taken the town over the weekend managed to hold it despite a pro gadhafi counter attack. >> we feel we are in a good situation. we are ready to attack gadhafi in tripoli. >> reporter: but tripoli is ringed by tanks and artillery and a dozen checkpoints. there were signs today gadhafi was mounting an offensive with reports of gains in the rebel-held east. at least one oil installation was recaptured and libyan bombs were attacking an air base just days ago. gadhafi's son said brushed off comments that his father was collusional made by susan rice, ambassador to the u.n. >> we havey leaders, statesmen, every day. we have no time for them. >> reporter: as the fighting spreads, so does the anxiety.

more than 100,000 have fled the country and thousands more can't get out, like these migrant workers, mostly africans who are living outside tripoli airport. many have waited for days but flights never come. this laborer says conditions are desperate. there is toole little food or even water and his family is getting sick. >> we need your aid. >> reporter: they fear another african war. with either the libyan army nor the rebels capable of striking a knockout blow this humanitarian crisis we are seeing could get much worse. meredith? >> thank you very much. former members of moammar gadhafi's inner circle have come forward with new claims of the libyan leader's direct

involvement in the deadly bombing of flight 103. 189 americans died among others. andrea mitchell has more on the obama administration's response. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. the u.s. and its allies are escalating pressure on moammar gadhafi. the justice department is being asked to open a new investigation into whether the libyan leader personally ordered one of the worst terror attacks in u.s. history. for than two decades after more than 200 people including 189 americans died in the lockerbie bombing reports that moammar gadhafi may have ordered the attack, sparking calls for a new investigation. >> there have been statements made by what are now former members of the libyan government fingering gadhafi, making it clear that the order came from the very top. i think we need to move expeditiously.

>> reporter: this after two administrations -- bush and obama -- dealt with gadhafi. some of the families of the victims have written to president obama and say they are furious, sickened. receive any bernstein's husband was on the flight. >> we have chosen to look the other way because of business interests, because for some reason we thought we could bring gadhafi into the family of civilized nations. we now know how wrong it was. >> reporter: now the u.s. is trying to marshal the world against gadhafi and sending 400 marines to enter the mediterranean for possible rescue and humanitarian missions. the president is resisting talks of military options especially as it already fights two wars. >> if we move assets what are the consequences of that for afghanistan, for the persian gulf? what other ale lies are prepared to work with us in some of these

things? >> reporter: military experts say a nato no-fly zone would be hard to implement and wouldn't stop the killing on the ground. >> it would require an enormous air effort to do so and could easily get the u.s. sucked into a situation where if we have trying to stop them from the air and realize we can't, because it's just too hard, we have to put in ground troops instead. >> reporter: the u.n. general assembly stripped gadhafi's regime of membership. >> this unprecedented action sends another clear warning to mr. gadhafi and those who still stand by him. they must stop the killing. >> reporter: to many, that raises more questions about why libya was in the human rights council in the first place and in fact once chaired the human rights commission. matt? >> andrea mitchell, thank you. kathleen and jack flynn's son j.p. was killed in the pan-am bombing. good morning. thanks for coming back.

>> good morning. >> give me your reaction to the developments here. >> well, it's about time that the united states stood up and realized that this is a serious thing against gadhafi. we should have done this a long time ago. >> it did not take long for this former justice minister to defect, leave the country and immediately finger moammar gadhafi for directly ordering the terror attack on pan-am flight 103. what level of proof do you need to see? what would be sufficient in your mind, jack, to prove to you that he ordered this bombing? >> kathleen and i went to the trial every day. >> for al magrahi. >> yes. we saw the evidence. it was clear he was down the hall from gadhafi. he took orders from gadhafi and the bomb and everything was made by him and gadhafi's right here. so it was obvious that he was the right-hand man who did this

for mr. gadhafi. >> clearly these people are now speaking freely and moammar gadhafi has his hands full in other areas. he's not paying attention to pan-am 103 now. are you worried there is a small window of opportunity that the people with this information might be silenced by people who are loyal to moammar gadhafi? >> i don't think so. i think it's moved beyond that. i think the world has awakened to the fact that moammar gadhafi is a murderer and killed 270 innocent people as well as people in libya. he has to step down. >> it took ten years, jack, to bring al magrahi to trial. he was released on compassionate grounds because it was said he had cancer but from what we understand he's doing well. do you anticipate seeing moammar gadhafi in a courtroom? >> yes. i hope that does happen.

i hope that the justice system, because if these people give the evidence against mr. gadhafi that you can bring him into a courtroom. i don't know what courtroom or where, but all the evidence will come out and hopefully we can take legal action against them. >> could you go through another trial, kathleen? >> yes, i could. to get moammar gadhafi i could go through hoops and do anything to get the man who murdered my son and 270 other innocent people. absolutely. >> the rollercoaster over the past few decades never ends. >> yes. >> we have been fighting for justice for 22 years and we will continue to fight for justice. >> that's what we do for our son. and for other people so that people in america can fly free and don't have to worry about being blown up by some crazy person named moammar gadhafi or the libyan regime.

it's got -- someone's got to stand up and take this bull by the horns. >> kathleen and jack flynn, nice to see you again. thanks for coming by. >> thank you. >> now we head to ann curry at the news desk with the headlines of the morning. ann? >> thanks, matt. good morning. we begin in yemen where the president turned on the united states tuesday, blaming his closest ally for encouraging growing protests against him. the move didn't quell protesters who packed the streets by the hundreds of thousands on tuesday night. pakistan's minority affairs minister was killed this morning in islamabad. he's a member of the christian minority and had recently called for the national law to be changed. the u.s. government will likely stay open for business after the senate votes today on $4 billion in spending cuts. nbc's capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell joins us now with more on the story.

hey, kelly. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, ann. congress did buy itself more time. another two weeks to keep the government's operations going and bills paid. the gop-led house passed the extension with the $4 billion in cuts because they came from a list of presidents that he could go along with. so more than a hundred house democrats were on board and that put pressure on the senate. today they say they will pass it quickly and senate democrats say they have to get on board, too. the problem is this is a short-term fix and congress has to figure out a way to come up with a longer-term set of deep cuts. that means a sequel to this budget showdown in a couple of weeks. ann? >> kelly, thank you. wisconsin governor scott walker is forging ahead with the two-year budget proposal to cut more than $1.25 billion in aid to schools and governments. it would strip workers of collective bargaining rights and is at a stalemate amiddays of

protest. in ohio there is another protest over a bill that heads to a vote today. thousands protested tuesday and vowed more demonstrations this morning. retail sales were up despite stormy weather and a jump in gas prices. americans increased buying on clothing, furniture and luxury goods. gas prices are up 20 cents in the last week alone. we have more from wall street from cnbc's trish regan joins us. >> good morning, ann. because of what we are seeing unfold now in the middle east, the concern is you mentioned retail sales. the concern is the higher gas prices will catch up with consumer spending. they haven't done it so far. we have only seen gas prices start to spike over the last couple of weeks. let's face it. if you're paying $4 at the pump it means less money to spend on everything else. economists say, you know, this

is coming at a bad time for the economy because it looks like we were starting to get firmly into growth territory. thisle could derail it all. >> trish regan, we leave that topic and move to another story. it took a hundred members of the mexican navy to rescue a humpback whale calf that beached itself. the whale was discovered in good condition on mexico's pacific coast where he was treated for cuts and scrapes. rescuers attached a cable to his tail and towed him back to sea. just a year old. they are hoping he can get back to his mother. now 7:14. back to meredith, matt and al. >> just before he left, he coughed up a little wooden boy. >> it was a heartwarming story until that. >> hey, al. >> life's good. we're talking about more rain in

the pacific northwest where they are looking at snow as well. another powerful storm bringing rain along the coast and iland. snow from portland to san francisco, even los angeles. we will see anywhere from a tenth of an inch to an inch of rain. also looking at one to two feet of snow in the >> we are off to a quiet start on this wednesday. temperatures are in the 30's right now to these this afternoon. a cold front going by late in the day but we are not and that's your latest weather. meredith? >> al, thank you.

a north carolina jury convicted a popular former doctor for the drunk driving death of a beautiful young ballerina. ron mott has followed the case and is in raleigh this morning for us. ron, good morning. >> reporter: meredith, good morning to you. the ballerina's family didn't get as harsh a verdict or sentence as they were hoping for but are relieved to see the ex-doctor going to prison finally. on day three of deliberations, the jury made up its mind. >> guilty of involuntary manslaughter. guilty of felony death by a vehicle and guilty of driving while impaired. >> reporter: former surgeon raymond cook, guilty. charged in the drunk driving death of 20-year-old ballerina elena shapiro whose car was brought to the courthouse for jurors to see. the jury fell two votes shy of convicting cook of murder. >> i believe he should receive the maximum sentence for second degree murder. >> we don't feel it was a fair

sentence at all. >> reporter: instead he got a minimum of three years in prison with a maximum of four and a half years. >> it was a deliberate act by dr. cook who knew better but chose to get in the lethal weapon and kill our elena. to me that's no different than shooting her with a gun. >> reporter: a video tribute to elena was played before cook was sentenced. >> we don't get elena back. we don't get any kind of better rest at night because of somebody going to jail for a longer or shorter period of time. >> because of him. >> reporter: prosecutors arguing cook, once the face of a thriving practice, father of two girls, got behind the wheel drunk and rocketed his mercedes into elena's car. >> he breathed in my face. it was strong. >> reporter: after a day of heavy drinking, first at a golf club and then at a local bar. >> what was the defendant's blood alcohol reading?

>> objection. >> overruled. you may answer. >> .24. >> reporter: .24, three times the legal limit in north carolina. a reading eventually lowered to .20. >> it shows you the extent of damage to the engine compartment. >> reporter: cook's mercedes was unrecognizable. he was on his way to meet his wife for dinner but never made it. >> i'm sorry. i talked to the babysitter. i told her what had been going on. that raymond was in a bad accident. >> reporter: an accident that claimed the life of a promising young woman. >> this is an egregious case of death by vehicle. >> reporter: after the accident cook voluntarily surrendered his license to practice in north carolina and went into rehab. when asked yesterday if he had anything to say before being

taken into custody, he declined. meredith? >> ron mott, thank you very much. it's 7:18. here's meredith. >> christian dior says the firing of john galliano after an online video supporting claims that he made antisemitic remarks sent shock waves through fashion week in paris. anne thompson is there. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. it's all anyone is talking about here in paris. john galliano has dressed some of the most glamorous women in the world and his work has been honored by the french president and britain's queen elizabeth. this morning he's out of christian dior, the victim of his own appalling behavior. ♪ >> reporter: john galliano's designs are staples on the carpet. nicole kidman and sharon stone both in dior on the market.

his style made him a bold-faced name in fashion. but it's his outrageous words caught on tape and posted by a british newspaper that were too much for the house of dior. >> i love hitler. people like you would be dead. >> reporter: on tuesday christian dior started firing procedures against its chief designer calling the remarks deeply offensive and in contradiction to the core values of the fashion house. the taped remarks made last december mirror an incident last week that led to the arrest in paris, accused of making ansemitic remarks to a couple in a cafe. this woman was an eyewitness. >> john galliano kept insulting this man's girlfriend. and so this man got annoyed and decided to be threatening towards galliano. >> reporter: galliano denies

wrongdoing, but this tape of as previous event appears to do serious damage to his credibility. >> your mothers, your forefathers would be [ bleep ] gassed and [ bleep ] dead. >> reporter: in the world of fashion, galliano is a legend. his client list, a plus. from the late princess diana to actress charlize thereon but one fan turned on him -- natalie portman, sunday's best actress winner and the public face of dior. after the video appeared this week, portman, who is jewish, said she was shocked and disgusted and will not be associated with galliano in any way. in a business where image is everything, fashionistas wonder if he can survive it. >> it will be difficult for him to get back into the industry unless he goes into rehab and the video is completely

forgotten. >> reporter: interestingly, none of the women to whom galliano made the remarks is jewish. still, making antisemitic remarks is a crime in france. if he's charged and convicted, he could get six months in prison. >> anne, thank you very much. just ahead, why did police remove charlie sheen's twin sons from his home overnight? the actor speaks out in a live interview. first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead, how you can live in the lap of luxury for just a few hundred dollars a month. we'll tell you why that is happening all across the country. >> plus, charlie sheen speaks out live after your local news. úúú

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am a stand still will. here is sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11. >> busy for motorists on southbound 295. we have an -- we have a very heavy delay in the southbound

direction due to accident that is clearing. washington boulevard, we are still tracking that one. greenspring and with land in the city, watch for an accident. looking at speeds on average, around 20 miles per hour in the southeast and white marsh towards the 895 split. delays in place there. backing up traffic on 795 out of owings mills. 14-minute ride on the northeast outer loop. here is a looked outside. this is what looks like at old court. that is standard for this hour. starting to ease up just a bit, but looking at southbound delays prior to 32. tony has attack on the forecast. -- as a check on the forecast. >> in the 30's. 35 at the airport, 33 degrees in

rising sun. mostly sunny. a cold front will go through this afternoon but will not be any weather associated with it. then it will cool off. upper thirties to low 40's on thursday at. >> check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. back at 7:55 with another live update.

7:30 on wednesday morning, march 2, 2011. say hello to our happy crowd gathered outside the window on the world in rockefeller plaza. happy to give them face time. i'm meredith vieira along with matt lauer. just ahead, an exclusive live interview with charlie sheen hours after police removed his twin boys from his home. what happened and how does he feel about it? we get his side of the story straight ahead. >> also ahead, if you have dreamed of living in a mansion but thought you could never afford it, think again. coming up, a new real estate

trend that could land you in a huge home for just a few hundred dollars a month. we'll explain. >> and donald trump is gearing up for a new season of "celebrity apprentice." is he also gearing up for a presidential run? we begin with charlie sheen speaking live about the removal of his twin boys from his home. first, jeff rossen has the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. charlie sheen called us and said police came to his house in the darkness of night with representatives from brooke mueller's camp, his estranged wife and took his children, max and bob, who turn 2 in a couple of weeks out of the house, removed them. they had been staying with charlie sheen. the lapd confirms for nbc news that did happen without incident. the kids were removed pursuant to a court order that brooke mueller had gotten in an l.a. county courtroom just yesterday

claiming that the kids should not be raised in that kind of environment with charlie's goddesses and what else is going on inside the house. as you mentioned, meredith, charlie sheen is here for a live interview. we'll get his reaction. but first a look behind closed doors. for charlie sheen, this was the perfect place to raise his twin boys, inside his los angeles mansion with the two women he calls his goddesses. >> we run errands, eat, play with the kids. >> we think up fun plans. >> we watch movies. i watch a lot of "two and a half men." >> reporter: do you love his kids? >> are you kidding? i was just up there. bob was like -- i didn't want to put them down. they're like, they're calling you. he's like, bye, saying bye to the -- >> the you say dad's busy he says, okay, dada's busy. he knows. he's fine with it.

>> reporter: is this normal, pictures of the kids on the fridge? >> aside from the days we have the gold palm fronds and fan him. >> they'll run with that. >> i'm joking. >> reporter: do the goddesses raise your kids? >> yeah. if i can't be there, everybody helps out. i don't know. there's nothing broken here. >> reporter: but late tuesday night officers arrived at his home and removed his boys, max and bob, reportedly after sheen's estranged wife brooke mueller, the boys' mother who's also battled drug abuse, filed for a restraining order in court concerned about her children's well-being. >> reporter: you said you want to rededicate yourself to your kids. >> sure. >> reporter: are you embarrassed that your kid wills read about this? >> god, no. talk about an education. this guy's our dad and we can get the answers and the truth?

wow, winning. >> reporter: charlie sheen joins us for a live interview with his lawyer mark gross. >> thank you. >> reporter: what happened at the house last night? you were home. the boys were awake or asleep? >> they were just being put to bed. my secretary informed me the police were on their way down to issue a restraining order. i thought, okay, we can deal with that. i got my lawyer on the phone and it was revealed once i opened the door that they were there to remove bob and max. so, you know, i professed in the last few days to not deal and come from a place of panic, ego, emotion, so i stayed calm and focused. somebody badges you, they win in that moment. it seemed odd. there were others that didn't seem qualified to carry out such

an operation. >> reporter: like who? >> a couple of gentlemen who wouldn't show i.d., wouldn't identify themselves. looked like they were from the rehab facility more than law enforcement. i didn't push it. i'm not into resisting the law. just had to surrender to it knowing that this is now the challenge i claim to be looking for. i'm more than willing to take on this task. if anybody thought my focus was directed in a radical capacity, that's going to seem like child's play. >> reporter: so they went upstairs? who got the children? >> i did and emma and laura, the nannies. we videotaped the whole thing so there was no -- nobody could claim otherwise. you have seen the video. they didn't have car seats so i

provided them. i said, i love you, and i said, don't say good-bye. say "see you later." later is, as we believe, to be very soon. >> reporter: sitting here hours after it happened do you know where your children are? >> i do not. that's a good question. that's a good point. isn't there some legal protection or some law that should inform the father of where his children are being removed and delivered to? >> you or any other father has the right to know where your children are. the silence by brooke's attorneys is conspicuous. >> yeah. >> reporter: did you say to the police officers, a, where are you from and, b, where are you taking my children before i hand them over to you? >> stupidly, i assumed they were going back to the house they have been living in with brooke when they are not with me. i think we got reports last night they were at a hotel in santa monica. at this moment on live television i don't know where my

children are, but i am not panicking. this is not about emotion or o ego. this is about focus and getting in touch with what i have to do to complete the task of bringing these two beautiful young men back to the home that they deserve to be raised in. there is more love, compassion, support, child care and everything else you could possibly want for a child in this lovely home. it's not a house. it's a home right down that hill. >> reporter: according to tmz brooke went to court yesterday and told the judge you threatened her recently and that's why she filed the court order. she said you told her, i will cut your head off, put it in a box and send it to your mom. >> colorful. >> reporter: did you say it? >> no. but you can formulate things and make them sound like it came from my mouth. >> reporter: a lot of people watched the video from "today" yesterday. when we were in the house with

the goddesses and said, you know, maybe two young boys shouldn't be raised in this environment. you know, with women who they are just meeting. how do you respond to that, respond to the critics and your estranged wife? >> i invite anybody to come in and observe. if it's a court-appointed monitor, somebody from the legal team, her, you with a camera. there is nothing to hide. as i said, there is nothing but love and compassion and absolute support for these amazing children. i'm going to go ahead and say that regardless of what people offer in the form of judgment or opinion, based on preconceived whatever, it's 100,000 times better than what will be offered in her house. >> reporter: will you sit here today and say you will go to the negotiating table with brooke mueller? i'm sure your anger is through the roof now. >> i'm calm. had i received a phone call, i

would have been willing to play ball and say absolutely, this is fine. in fact, i was going to call her because she's been requesting a two-hour visit asking lourdes to bring them somewhere. i had rejected it, because i knew that unlike myself that a drug test would not be clean. >> in fact, when we were aware brooke had gone to the police and the police took no action we were concerned because it was charlie's court-ordered time with the children. i attempted to contact brooke's attorneys but no one returned a phone call. >> reporter: is this normal, in your experience? >> it's atypical? >> reporter: police coming to the house at night. >> the issuing of a court of an order, but it is atypical to issue an order with no notice to the other side. often courts will do it in abundance of caution and we have to figure out what to do next. >> reporter: what's next? as charlie's lawyer how will you try to get the children back?

>> i don't want to show my hand, but we'll look at the allegations, figure out not just to get charlie's word against brooke's, but independent witnesses to verify the accuracy or inaccuracy of statements. it rehashes a lot of old stuff. it's unfortunate they chose to go this route instead of communicating. but we are willing to sit down and try to work it out. >> absolutely. >> reporter: is there anything you want to say to brooke? may be your only chance to talk to her considering there is a restraining order. >> i understand. is that violating it? those things get creative these days. >> there is no order preventing you from contacting her. but you never want anything twisted. >> brooke, i'm sorry you felt this had to be done in this way. this does not display any responsible parenting in anything i'm familiar with. i think cooler and smarter, leveler heads can prevail. i urge you to reach out to me

immediately if not sooner and tell me where our sons are. >> reporter: we'll leave it there with the children. i want to move on to your legal battle with cbs. >> oh, that. >> reporter: that other thing happening in your life. you have been out of work a couple of weeks now. >> yeah. >> reporter: obviously the future of the show is in jeopardy at this point. >> sure. >> reporter: cbs and warner brothers haven't said much, only that you lost your job this season because of your conduct, statements and behavior. >> sure. >> reporter: first of all, your lawyer sent a letter demanding that you get paid for all eight episodes cancelled this season. >> sure. >> reporter: and for the first time since this happened, les moonves, the president spoke out. there was audio rolling. let's listen. >> good. >> doing eight less originals saves us money. i'm not saying long term i want this to go on or it's great, but the repeat last night actually was the fourth highest rated

show of the night. he's on the air quite a bit these days. i wish he would have worked this hard to promote himself for an emmy. i hope it's back. we'll see. >> reporter: so less moonves is saying cbs is fine without charlie sheen now. >> i don't know if i would paraphrase it like that. it was an intelligent spin. he's a brilliant businessman. look where he is. look who he got. you have to be nominated first to go out and launch a campaign. that's a little detail, but it was a good joke in good spirits. nothing has changed on this end. i thought getting the crew paid for four was a good direction. >> reporter: warner brothers agreed to pay for four. you want them paid for all eight. >> well, yeah. that's the way it will be completed. the rest of my cast and myself in that order. until that happens there is nothing to talk about.

then we can open up a dialogue for the future of season 9 and the rest of it, you know. >> reporter: are you ready to go back to work? it will be obviously a tense set. you have chuck lorre. can you work with him again? >> it's up to him. i can't even get a phone call returned. i can't get a phone call in a live, open forum. >> reporter: you want chuck to call you? >> well, yeah. something, anything. even if he calls, hears my voice and hangs up quick. >> reporter: why don't you call him? >> i deleted the number from my phone. >> reporter: why? out of anger? >> it was a recommendation from this guy. i don't know. i issued my questions through you. i was even and direct and i have requested some interaction in other live forums. rhymes with cnn. i made it clear where i stand

and why i stand here. it's feeling like they are hiding based on nothing. i'm not trying to insult everybody. i'm as confused as everybody here and all of my beautiful and perfect fans. >> reporter: charlie sheen, mark gross, thanks for joining us. charlie, meredith vieira in new york has a question for you. >> go for it. >> thank you very much. >> is this the million dollar question? >> maybe, if you give me the final answer i'm looking for. charlie, i want to go back to your kids. obviously you are upset about the boys. any message you want to deliver to them? >> bob, max, it's dada. i will see you very soon. you're right hear. >> thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you, sweetie. >> mark, do you plan to go to court today to get this undone, this restraining order? >> we will not be in court

today. >> reporter: why not go to court today? >> unlike brooke's attorney, anything we do will be with notice and so the earliest we could be in court would be tomorrow. we'll weigh our options whether it's tomorrow or friday. >> reporter: what would be your message to the judge about why the children should be returned to charlie and how long were you supposed to have them? >> until thursday -- what time? >> until 10:00. his custody time ended today at 10:00. the message essentially would be there isn't even an allegation that charlie is a danger to the children, harmed or threatened the children, which is why i'm surprised by the issuance of the order. >> reporter: thank you very much. meredith, back to you. >> thank you. our thanks to charlie sheen and mark gross at well. now a check of the weather from al. >> thank you very much, meredith. who's this? she's beautiful. that's a cutie. let's check your weather. we are going to warm up today up

to 51 degrees in new york. 45 in boston. 56 in philadelphia. washington, 60 degrees. the front moves through and tomorrow the roller coaster dips down. look at the temperatures. 20 to 25-degree drop. 30 in new york. 21 in boston and tomorrow around much of the country it will bel chilly from the great lakes into the northeast in new england. 80s and 90s in the southwest. 60s in southern california. 70s in florida. >> turns out is going to be a nice day today. in a little front coming through, but will not be any weather associated mostly sunny, high-temperature near and that's your latest

weather. meredith? >> al, thank you. still ahead, how would you like to live here for $600 a month? look good? the rent a room mansion trend. but first, these messages. @@@d@@@d@dz n , , n n l lúiúñú!9 úú ú@@÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

we are back with reaction to what charlie sheen had to say in our exclusive live interview. steve adabado is the author of "what were they thinking." good morning. >> good morning. >> you deal with people in crisis, give them advice. charlie sheen is going through a

crisis. how did he do? >> it's amazing. i was prepared to say out of control, ridiculous, get him off the air, it's embarrassing. i wonder about us when we put him on the air but i saw a father in pain, someone who for the first time through this insanity seemed focused, clear and speaking from a genuine human place that i could follow. he seemed clear that the boys are his priority. from a public opinion, perception point of view a lot of people who were thinking the guy is nuts are now saying, but he's a dad and i can understand what he's saying. a lot happened right there. i'm trying to process it, not just from a media point of view but from a human point of view. >> can you separate his response as a dad from the other things he's said in prior interviews that people may see as bizarre, crazy or inappropriate. >> you can't pass that stuff off or the domestic violence situations. his brand is teetering on

destruction. i cannot see how he can go back and function or work. he looks like this today, but tomorrow he could be off the wall saying ridiculous, crazy, dangerous things which isn't just bad for his career. it's terrible for his family and his children. right now what i saw was a very powerful, genuine, focused human communication. i have to tell you, i was stunned that he was able to do that given what i have seen in the past week. >> maybe that event had a sobering effect on him. >> i hope so for his children. >> thank you. we'll be right back after this.

just ahead, is donald trump closer to making a decision about a possible presidential run? we'll ask about that and the new season of "celebrity apprenti apprentice". >> after your local news and weather. 9 9ohohohoh 9 zpapc

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. time for another check of the morning commute. i see there are some of backups out there. >> plenty of delays this morning couple of accidents. fulton avenue, and another one at a goldthorp. you can see it delays on the west side, and if your budget travel at druid hill and fulton avenue, another -- if you are going to travel at druid hill

and fulton avenue, another one to avoid. inner loop delays from greenspring towards the j.f.x. also on the outer loop north side, heavy towards the harrisburg expressway. 31 minutes to get you through the west side stretch. 12 minutes on the outer loop through the 83's towards 795. 20-minute ride on the northeast side towards the harrisburg expressway. on liberty, the back up his heavy there. we will switch over to a live view of 95 at 395. it looks like there was an earlier accident in the northbound lane that is now clear. >> at least the weather is nice and quiet. it will turn out to be a nice day today. temperatures right now are in the 30's. we will jump into the fifties later on. the one in taneytown. 33 degrees in jarrettsville.

mostly sunny and mild. high temperatures in the mid-to- upper-fifties. it will turn colder to margaret upper 30's and low 40's. good chance for rain over the weekend. >> back at 8:25 with another live update. coffee -- black, straight up. extra cream, three sugars. iced coffee french vanilla. for me. iced coffee with a turbo shot. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. drinkin' dunkin'. america runs on dunk.

sink your teeth into some big n' toasty if you understand. good. you've got spunk. a big day calls for the new big n' toasty. wrap your hands around fried eggs, cherrywood-smoked bacon, and cheese on texas toast. america runs on dunkin'. we are back now. 8:00 on a wednesday morning, the 2nd day of march 2011. it's a beautiful morning here in new york city. temperature about 36 degrees. [ cheers ] >> nice people here out on the plaza. i'm matt lauer along with meredith vieira and al roker. coming up, a remarkable man, remarkable family. >> absolutely. we ran into him in the hallway. john walsh's son adam was abducted and murdered in 1981.

the case went unsolved for 27 years. john and his wife are here with a man who re-examined the case, finally naming adam's killer, 27 years after his body was found. we'll talk to them coming up. >> on a lighter note we are joined by the one and only donald trump. he will be talking about the new season of "celebrity apprentice" which debuts sunday on nbc. if you have been following the headlines a little bit you know donald is also making waves. possible talk of a presidential run. we'll ask mr. trump about that as well. >> and he can finance his own campaign. and skating icon scott hamilton opens up about his latest health scare. the brain tumor that resurfaced. he'll tell us how he's doing and how he keeps his amazing positive attitude. it's infectious. >> it is. ann has a look at the headlines.

>> hi, guys. a defiant moammar gadhafi appeared on libyan state television this morning and declared again that he will not step down despite mounting international pressure. he said he'll fight to the last man and woman and blamed the foreign media and al qaeda for the uprising against him. forces launched a counter offensive for control of a key oil installation and today britain said it is starting an operation to air lift refugees stranded on libya's border with tunisia. two u.s. warships moved closer to libya this morning. defense secretary gates says the ship wills help with humanitarian relief. south korean activists will go ahead with plans to send information about the uprising into north korea by balloon next week. north korea has threatened to retaliate by firing at border towns. dozens of homes are teetering on a mountainside in bolivia after a massive mudslide that'sle

still active. more than 400 homes crashed to the ground completely wiping out seven neighborhoods. the bank hsbc suspended home foreclosures in the united states after a government review found there were problems with the paperwork on some of the earlier foreclosures. the girl scouts will be able to continue selling cookies outside the savannah, georgia, home of the organizer's founder. a complaint was filed this year because the scouts were violating an ordinance against street sales. now that time has turned flower children into grandparents, the hippy favorite the volkswagen minibus has been given a makeover. it features an electric motor and uses an ipad to control the entertainment system. does it have big flowers though? it's 8:03. now outside for a check of the weather with al. didn't you love that minibus, al? >> i always wanted one.

now i can get one. thanks, ann. we have nice friends jumping up and down, having a good time. where are you from? >> oregon. >> all right. ann curry's home state. nice to see you. let's check your weather, see what's happening. we'll show you our pick city near oregon, boise, idaho. news channel 7. periods of rain and 49 degrees. as we take a look along the west we have rain from washington, oregon, all the way down into california. mountain snows in the inland areas. look for snowshowers new england into the eastern great lakes. plenty of sunshine. 28 degrees in chicago. 51 in new york. beautiful along the gulf coast with showers along the southeastern coast of florida. >> we are off to a quiet start this wednesday. nice day and, maybe a few clouds. clouds. high temperatures in mid-

and that's your latest weather. matt? >> al, thank you very much. when we come back, the abduction that changed america. john walsh talks about the nearly 30-year-old murder of his son adam and how finally that case has been solved. he's joined by his wife. we'll talk to them. first, these messages. but then...someone lit the flame. plain rode away on lion's mane. where plain met fruits with strangely names. such wonderful things they did contain. a shot of life to a hungry vein. the captive beast who broke the chain.

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back now at 8:08 with the unforgettable murder case of 6-year-old adam walsh. a new book reveals a surprising piece of evidence that helped solve the case. in fact, many pieces of evidence. we'll talk to john and revé walsh, but first how the tragedy unfolded. it was a parent's worst nightmare. >> these people are keeping reée and i going. everyone knows adam's alive and it's just a matter of finding him. >> reporter: 6-year-oldle adam walsh disappeared from a sears department store in 1981 and the case took a horrific turn. two weeks after he was kidnapped, the little boy's head was discovered in a nearby florida canal. >> i don't know who would do this to a 6-year-old child. i can't conceive of it. >> reporter: ottis toole, a serial killer, was the prime suspect. he even confessed to the crime

but was never charged with the murder. adam's parents, john and revé walsh became advocates for children and violent crime victims. john's long-running tv series helped to solve many cases, but adam's case remained wide open. in 2006, the walshs asked joe matthews, a retired homicide detective and family friend, to conduct an independent investigation. evidence was pieced together and police officially closed the case in 2008. ottis toole, who had died in prison years earlier, was named adam walsh's killer. >> in three decades, ottis toole has been the suspect from confession to sightings to witness interviews. it's all there. >> reporter: it was a moment john and revé walsh had long awaited. >> there are no words to tell you how i feel. >> it's about justice.

for all the other victims who haven't gotten justice, don't give up hope. don't give up hope. >> john and revé are with us along with joe matthews, the detective who helped solve the case. co-author of the book "bringing adam home." i remember sitting with you a couple years ago when the case was declared closed. police confirmed that toole killed your son. you said you finally had justice. how have your lives changed since that moment, since 2008? >> well, obviously we can't do anything to bring adam back. but in response to his death and everything that we have been through and everything we learned during that time, we were able to start the national center for missing and exploited children. john, of course, was able to lobby for a lot of laws and have the show, catch a lot of bad people. but there was always that part that was missing -- closure of

the case. it was frustrating to watch john solve so many other cases and not ours. >> so in 2006 you brought joe into this. how did that happen? >> joe was the guy who polygraphed revé and i back in 1981 when adam went missing. he was a well known homicide detective with the miami beach police force. he was critical of the way the hollywood police handled the case over the years. in 1990 he brought me a case of a little boy who was brutally abused and murdered and found unidentified. the case was called baby lollipop. i put it on "america's most wanted." joe said we have to get justice for this boy. it was his mother. joe and i became friends. revé said, john, you have solved so many crimes, caught over a thousand fugitives. we need to give one big last push. do it again on "america's most wanted." i said, revé, i know the guy

that can help us. he's a good detective. maybe we can get hollywood to open the case again and take an outside look. >> you had 10,000 pieces of evidence to look through -- or i guess paperwork. how did you know where to start, joe? >> i was involved, like john said, in 1981. it was a roller coaster over the years. different administrations bringing me back after i had worked for a period of time they changed their mind. i'm one of the few people who have read all 10,000 people and put it in some kind of order. i started from the beginning, just like any other cold case. >> you found evidence that was overlooked essentially by police at the time. what was this undeveloped film that had pictures taken inside ottis toole's car? what were on the pictures? >> that's law enforcement took photos processing the vehicle. the vehicle was lost and the carpeting was lost, but the film was there. when i was first told the film

didn't exist, i made a request. they said there were 98 photos. what was surprising to the florida department of law enforcement is they were never developed. i was the first person to see the photos. that was the most compelling evidence. >> whatle exactly did they show that was compelling? >> what they do is they illuminate blood. it gives you a blue color. you see a blood transfer from adam's face to the carpet. it shows his imle madge. >> and that had never been developed until you demanded it? >> they never knew it existed until i found it. it was so compelling. that wasn't the only evidence. >> right. >> but that was the most compelling evidence. >> they also didn't question certain people like you did like the security guard at the sears store that day. >> it was a mistake from the beginning. they took statements and there is a big difference from taking

statements and interviewing. i reinterviewed everyone that was still alive and they led me to other people. eventually i talked to relatives that he admitted killing adam within two months after the homicide. >> when joe came to you and said, it's ottis toole, were you rprised? >> i always believed it was ottis toole. it convinced revé that it was ottis toole. but i've got to say chad wagner, the chief of police in hollywood, florida, of all the mistakes made rs he was the guy that had the guts to work with joe and said to me face to face, we owe it to you. the way you have changed things in this country, we owe it to you to open this case. i will throw out all the precon sooe cved notions, mistakes that were made. he stood up and said, mistakes were made by this police department. if ottis toole was alive, weal would indict him. it ended the chapter for us and gave hope to so many victims.

if police made mistakes or your case is cold, don't slam the door. take a look at the old cases. let someone come in like this guy and kelly hancock who helped as the former d.a. these men worked for years to help solve adam's case and chad wagner said, we have taken a hard look, we apologize on national television. that has ended a terrible chapter of our lives. >> john and revé walsh, thank you very much for joining us. joe as well. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> we're back right after this. k. my daily meeting with a salty snack and then a 3:15, with my guilt. [ female announcer ] new special k cracker chips. 27 crispy chips. 110 delicious calories. mmmmmmm...good meeting. same time tomorrow? [ female announcer ] find them in the cracker aisle. i see a bag and think... i could have a chip. yeah right. that's why they're called chips? [ female announcer ] new special k cracker chips.

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you don't just taste it, you feel it. ♪ magic [ male announcer ] werther's original caramel chocolate. what comfort tastes like. we're back now at 8:19 with donald trump. he's back with a new season of "the celebrity apprentice" and has some familiar faces. >> latoya what's your name? >> asap. >> is that as soon as possible? >> no, no. it means actors, singers, authors and performers with a purpose. >> say it one more time? >> artists. >> so one more -- >> artists -- >> professionals -- >> singers -- >> actors. >> what do you think of the name? >> i think they are already confused and it shows. fame over. we've won. >> donald, good morning. nice to see you. i like the cast. you have dionne warwick, star

jones, meatloaf, richard hatch, latoya jackson. >> gary busey, this brilliant guy who's nuts but wonderful. we have wonderful people, jose canseco. meatloaf turns out really to be a star. he's a wildman. >> he cries a lot. >> he's a 260-pound guy crying and crying. but he's got emotion. >> in the end there is a lot of fighting. you were quoted saying they make amaroso look like milquetoast. >> a sweet, mild-mannered woman. i have never seen anything like this on reality television. >> these guys have had a lot of opportunities to see how it works. they have watched groups before them. are you finding the contestants are tougher and get the game more? >> they are tougher, smarter and well prepared. they are so well prepared it's

unbelievable. they have read every book i have written, watched every show. it's tough. the hardest thing for me to do, they are so well prepared and good, in the first session, firing somebody. nobody wants to be the first off. it's a very hard thing to do. probably the saddest thing i have done in terms of reality television. the first firing this time is really sad. >> all right, man. you can milk it. >> exactly. >> can i switch gears for a second? >> yes. friday i interviewed blair griffith who won miss colorado usa and a few weeks later she and her mom were evicted from their home because mom is ill and they lost health insurance. blair is going to compete in june in miss usa in las vegas. that is your contest. you own it along with nbc. >> yes. >> what's your feeling? >> i hear she's lovely. everybody tells me what a nice person, everything else. i think we are going to try to do something about it. i heard about it yesterday

though it's been out there for a while. i told my people, really look at it strongly, see if we can help out. >> that's great. >> i want to switch gears again. there are rumblings out there -- and you're making them -- about running for president again. i remember sitting down in your office several years ago when you were going through this the last time. you were talking about running for president. there are some who said, you know what you are doing? you're tweaking people because with the speculation you're promoting what you promote best which is donald trump. >> last time i had no interest. a lot of people wanted me to do it. this time i have an interest. i see the country. we are a laughingstock, not a respected country. we are in debt up to our knees. i want to use a different word. we are in trouble. china is taking advantage of us like crazy. they're taking our jobs, making our products. you look at other places. look at opec with the oil. you will be paying $5 or $6 a gallon for gas soon and we have

nobody to call up and say, listen, fellows, the oil price is going down to $40. they wouldn't be there accept f -- except for us. >> you're a good businessman. what about wisconsin with state employees' bargaining rights. are you for that? >> each state is different. he's a tough guy. he wants a balanced budget and wants it quickly. i understand what he's doing. new york would be a different situation which is heavily unionized. what he's doing is right for his state. >> how would you handle the situation in libya? you're a good businessman, but i'm not clear. >> it's the weakness of the country. we have soldiers and ships there and you have a madman shooting people down in the streets. they are protesting rather violently, but he has f-18s shooting bullets into the crowds and killing, i think probably tens of thousands of people. they say 2,000, 3,000.

i think it has to be more. >> would you support a no-fly zone? >> i certainly would, at a minimum. >> even at a risk of committing our military forces on the air or on the ground? >> you can't allow something like this to happen. it's like a holocaust. >> you don't have a long time. >> it should have been done already. he could have saved a lot of lives if this were done. he could have been surgically taken out. he knocked out the pan-am plane. this is not a good, sane man. something should have happened. >> when will you decide if you will run for president? >> right after "celebrity apprentice". >> you will announce it on our air? >> i may do that. >> make a commitment. >> sometime prior to air. >> on our air. you heard it here. >> sunday night, 9:00/8:00 central time. we'll be right back after your local news.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. let's get a final check of the commute with sarah caldwell. >> what a mess on the west side. accident involving an overturned vehicle, blocking all lanes of the inner loop approaching a liberty road. delays stretch back to 95 towards the topside inner loop. outer loop delays as well. southbound the 795, backed up as you approach the beltway.

if you are going to travel but not on a 395, another problem spot heading into account past mlk. major delays due to a crash of their bid 24 on the outer loop northeast side. here's a quick live look at the scene at. all lanes closed approaching the ready on the inner loop. you can see delays in both directions. in the area of 95, looking at the ramp in down, jammed conditions heading towards the accident scene. >> good morning, everyone at. at least the weather is nice and quiet. it is going to be a nice day today. temperatures in the 30's at the present time. 37 at the airport, 35 in parkton, 37 degrees in rock hall. mostly sunny. temperatures in the mid-to-

upper-50's. we will go the other way tomorrow. we will drop all the way from the upper 30's and 40's. a good chance for rain over the weekend at. >> we will have another update at 8:55.

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8:30 on this wednesday morning, march 2, 2011. a great morning in new york. clear skies, not too cold. we are here on the plaza and, matt, coming up, you will be catching up with our good friend. >> a great friend. this guy is the voice of figure

skating on nbc, the man behind stars on ice and also a survivor. i mean it in the best possible way. so many health issues over the years. yet look at the smile. it has always been there. he has such an incredible attitude. >> he does. >> he'll bring us up to date on what he's been dealing with. >> also this morning, you know how oatmeal is a very healthy option. >> yes. >> for a lot of us it's boring. guess what? mark bittman is here. >> not boring. >> he's got five ways to make oatmeal more interesting. >> in addition to just pouring hot boiling water on it. >> put a couple blueberries on it. >> talk about a steal of a deal. we'll show you how you can live in a mansion for just a few hundred dollars a month. >> that sounds good. really? >> crazy. >> a look at the weather, please? >> we'll show you for today we are looking at a beautiful day

in the east. a little bit windy, 51 in new york. only 13 in minnesota. some of the cold air working east. we have rain in the pacific northwest today and tomorrow. sharply colder, mild on the coast. showers in the great lakes and snow in the northern rockies.th >> turns out is going to be a nice day today. in a little front coming through, but will not be any weather associated mostly sunny, high-temperature near and we've got somebody from newfoundland. >> yeah! >> you can check your weather any time day or night for

newfoundland or all around the country on the weather channel on cable, weather.com online. meredith? >> al, thank you very much. one in four houses in the u.s. is in some stage of foreclosure. kerry sanders is in florida where millionaires are getting creative to keep the banks at bay. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, meredith. in lifestyles of the rich & famous, it just isn't what it used to be. champagne wishes and caviar dreams are more peanut butter & jelly. the owner of this mansion is turning his castle into a rooming house to hold off foreclosure. ♪ >> reporter: at 16,000 square feet brian tuttle's mansion was his dream home. onyx from bolivia, hand-painted frescos and an intimate dining room for 16 of his friends. when his fortune evaporated in

the housing crisis he said he had to get inventive. he now rents out six of the eight bedrooms. >> i had to make a decision. either admit weakness, rent out the rooms and recover or give up. i don't give up. so i made the tough decisions you have to make to survive in today's economy. >> reporter: the rooms now belong to six tenants who pay $600 to $800 a month. utilities, swimming pools, everything included. a secretary pays $600 for all of this. an unbelievable deal. her co-workers are jealous. >> they're like, you live there? really? >> reporter: you saw it on craigslist? >> i had four friends read it. i said what does this sound like? they said, i don't know, sounds like a playboy house. i brought my mom. we checked it out and i got lucky. >> reporter: this month's smart money magazine spotlights the quiet trend. from florida to new york to seattle, millionaires turning rooms in the houses into money

makers. >> i think the trend is going on a lot more than people realize. it's not out there prominently because wealthy homeowners don't want people to know they have fallen on hard times. >> these are men and women whose only desire was to get the work that didn't exist. >> reporter: it was the same thing during the great depression. every american city and town had boarding houses. >> no, it's not. >> reporter: in redman, washington, this family manor includes a trout pond, basketball court and a museum. the family of four has been renting out a room in the home for four years. >> with our tenants we never even had a lease. it's always been, if you want to move out, move out whenever you want to. >> reporter: in florida you may have noticed brian tuttle, a divorced father, only rents to women. >> i only rent to girls because i have a 16-year-old daughter. she comes over a lot to spend the night. >> reporter: it makes it easier to choose a movie in the in-home theater. here, chick flicks rule.

who's the winner here? >> we are. >> cheers! >> reporter: brian tuttle's take is about $4,200 a month. when he advertises that he has a room on craigs list he establishes rules, one of which is no dating between the landlord and the tenant. you're probably wondering what about homeowners associations? many have rules about renting out houses, but few have rules about renting out rooms in houses. meredith? >> that's a great idea. kerry sanders, thank you very much. up next, gold medal winner scott hamilton opens up about his health scare and his amazing spirit. first this is "today" on nbc. hey, what are you drinkin'? i'm drinkin' dunkin'. coffee -- black, straight up. extra cream, three sugars. iced coffee french vanilla. for me. iced coffee with a turbo shot. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. drinkin' dunkin'.

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friend scoot hamilton, the voice of figure skating on nbc. he was out on the rockefeller ice rink in november of 2009 but recent health concerns slowed him down a bit. good morning. nice to see you. >> nice to see you. >> we'll get into specifics in a second. we talk so much about your positive spirit and attitude. boy, you have needed it. >> and in a way i'm very frustrated. you know, i have worked hard and had some cool moments in my life, you know. >> right. >> all we end up talking about is my health. >> you're right. it shouldn't be that way. we should spend time talking about what you have done for charities and things like that. i know. but i remember sitting, having breakfast next to you and your family in vancouver for the olympics. you looked fine, great. it was a short time after that, just a couple months that after a battle with testicular cancer and a brain tumor several years ago you realized you weren't

feeling well again. >> i went back to skating last year. i was enjoying being in shape and slimming down, feeling good every day. about two weeks after that back flip you just saw, i took a stumble and tore everything in my shoulder. i didn't really realize i had injured myself that badly. so i went to the olympics waiting for the surgery. i had the surgery in april, repaired the shoulder. i was in rehab for that and i realized in may that my peripheral vision was going again. it was one of those -- oh, here we go again. >> you knew immediately it was a tumor? >> i knew immediately. i was on my way to chicago for an appearance. i called my wife and said, tracy, do you mind if i stop in cleveland to get checked out? i was due for scheduled scans anyway. she said, no, please do. she's always like, please, be vigilant. so i went in and got confirmation. dr. barnett, the chairman of the

brain tumors said this time it's presenting itself as craniotomyh the side or up through the nose. i consulted and we came up with a strategy. the irony was the date for the surgery was the exact date that i had my testicular cancer surgery 13 years before. >> they performed the surgery but there were complications. >> they go up through the nose, create a flap and they were able to get to the tumor that way. there is a small percentage chance that -- there are all sorts of blood vessels in there. it's an unpredictable complication, just the way my body is. they slightly nicked an artery. so if i would have been anywhere else the brain tumor wouldn't have come out. but they stayed with the program

and got the tumor out. but then they had to figure out what to do with this artery. it was a summer of trying to figure it out. >> eyesight limited now? do you still have complications? >> i have about 50% in my right eye. i lost it after all this was said and done. it's come back. again, the surgeons and doctors say we've going to work hard to keep your eye. >> for all the talk and as long as i have known you and how much i talk about your positive spirit, are there times you want to just let go a string of profanities and say, why me? >> yeah. not so much the profanity, but you want to have time to mourn things. you know, there are times like i will never be able or possibly not able to do that. you give yourself a chance to like -- [ sighs ] -- but with every situation it's not so much the situation but how you deal with the situation

that gives you the quality of life. i have chosen to focus on the blessings. i have two gorgeous children. i have an amazing wife, friends, friends and more friends. tons of support. i just keep my eye on that and try to be selfish and make that continue. yeah. i have had set-backs. but i'm really trying to keep my eye on the prize. the prize is what god has given me. it's extraordinary. >> before i let you go i want to say congratulations. smuckers stars on ice. 25 years! >> 25 years. >> come back on "today" to talk about the 50th anniversary. >> wouldn't that be great? you'll be doing the interview? >> we'll see. scott, good luck. >> great to see you. >> scott will be back in the fourth hour to talk to hoda and kathie lee. still ahead, affordable spring break vacation ideas for the family. first this is "today" on nbc.

we are back at 8:45. this morning, wounded warriors. with america fighting two wars in iraq and afghanistan there are a lot of vets coming home with visible and invisible scars. many are women. norah o'donnell has details. good morning. >> good morning, meredith. our women warriors are true heroes. we traveled to texas to join 20 of them at a retreat that's giving our soldiers a chance to relax and to heal. in the hills of west texas, sunrise means a new beginning for these wounded warriors. >> i feel more relaxed, comfortable. >> reporter: jonee mcnabb spent a year in iraq. >> before i was down. felt out of place. >> reporter: now she feels home on the range.

>> this is my first time. >> reporter: learning a new lesson in life from horseback riding. >> i was scared. but kind of let me overcome my fears, being able to bond with a horse, learning to saddle the horse and groom the horse. >> reporter: there is a reason they come here to the peaceful and serene setting of the wild cattle ranch but for the past four years they have taken care of wounded warriors. this is the first time they have done it exclusively for women. >> even the words combat veteran, i'm sure had you thinking male. you're thinking a big guy with a uniform on. then you see a girl. she's a combat veteran. >> reporter: lance corp. rag nancy shapiro, a marine was wounded in iraq. she lost her right eye. >> coming home as a 25-year-old female, i felt i had some sort

of deformity on my face. it was hard going through. how was it going to meet a man? it was hard putting makeup on. >> reporter: physically she healed quickly. emotionally she was a wreck. >> i stayed in my bedroom almost three years by myself. >> reporter: then nancy attended a retreat and works for the wounded warrior project as a counselor. she knows how to treat the invisible wouldn'nds of war. post traumatic stress disorder affects nearly 20% of the female veterans. >> i can't tell you how hard it is to get these girls to crack a smile. >> reporter: these women warriors go through activities like canoeing and skeet shooting, help rebuild their self-esteem. >> it was just kind of a confidence-booster to say, hey, i can do that. >> reporter: an extraordinary opportunity to not just forget about the stress of war but also

to learn to laugh again. with other women who know what it's like to sacrifice for their country. >> when you come together with a group of women who have gone through the same thing or are going through the same thing you realize you're not alone. >> reporter: it was great to see how many of the women within hours of just arriving at the ranch felt better. they were so grateful to be part of the wounded warrior project. a group called project odyssey. it's helped hundreds of male and female warriors. our veterans need some of that help. meredith? >> they sure do. norah o'donnell, thank you. up next, mark bittman with five ways to jazz up oatmeal. first this is "today" on nbc. >> there you go. we're ready for that.

♪ this morning, oatmeal five ways. oats are nourishing, inexpensive and easy to cook. mark bittman, new york times columnist and author of "how to cook everything" is here with new ways to make the old favorite. nice to see you. >> good morning,matt. >> i love oatmeal but only when jammed with brown sugar and syrup. >> we can do that. the only thing that bothers me is people who say it's hard to make or you don't have time.

>> don't you have to stir it all the time? >> get water boiling. you can use all water or water with milk. use a pinch of salt, the right amount of oatmeal. the recipe is on your website, we hope. >> okay. >> stir that, turn it down. >> how long does it simmer? >> five or ten minutes. >> you're looking for consistency. once the liquid is absorbed it's done. >> this has been about five minutes. >> once the boiling subsides, this one maybe needs a little bit longer. >> couple of minutes. >> probably not the best thing in the world to load it with syrup or brown sugar. you have other things that are healthier? >> to me a tablespoon of syrup goes a long way. >> i'm talking a lot. >> like half a cup? bananas, peanut butter, maybe honey. that's how we do this one.

if it were done. but i will show you some interesting things you can do. i just think it's important that the basic thing -- >> is not frightening. >> it's so easy you can do what you want. here is what you may call oatmeal pilaf. we take oil or butter, heated in a pan. >> these are steel cuts? >> there are rolled, too. steel cuts are just chopped oats. you can't eat whole oats. they take forever to cook. but steel cuts are chopped and crunchier. we put them in oil. a little bit of ginger in this case. we're going for a kind of savory sweet flavor profile. toast it for, say, a minute. then water and in this case -- >> is that cream? >> coconut milk which is really

delicious. >> for flavor or -- >> it's really delicious. just cook this open for 10, 15 minutes. that will soften up and you get this. you can cook it with raisins or -- wait. >> what was that? >> more coconut. >> i'm not a fan. >> i ruined it for you. >> not bad except for coconut. >> no, it's good. >> we actually take the oats and soak them in the reridfrigerato overnight. >> this is the european way called muesli. >> no cooking at all. >> you get this admittedly thick but very, very rich, mixed with nuts, raisins, dates, seeds, whatever. >> and greek yogurt in there: and finally -- >> no, two more. rolled oats in milk or water for

ten, 15 minutes, maple syrup and you're done. with these, leftover oats made into patties dipped into soy sauce. >> some of the members of the crew said you sold them on these. >> that's saple syrup. but the soy sauce -- >> how do you make them stick together? >> they're oats. it's glue. >> just make a patty? >> and fry them up. it's just oatmeal. >> the coconut thing sounds good to me. >> they're good. >> i wouldn't want to eat six of them, but they're okay. they taste like popcorn. >> right. >> it's weird. all right. oatmeal five ways. just ahead, where to start to set up a college fund for your kids. >> first your local news and weather.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. the effort to legalize gay marriage in maryland a stalled after a pair of delegates withheld their votes in exchange for more school funding. they say they want $15 million in unrelated education funding cuts restored to the budget before they vote for the gay marriage bill read the two skipped the vote on the same sex marriage bill, leaving it to votes shy of the votes needed. back in a minute w

>> now let's look at the forecast with tony pann. >> it is going to turn out to be a nice day today. we will make it into the fifties this afternoon. a mixture of sunshine and a few clouds. there will not be any weather associated with that front. cooler tomorrow. high temperatures in the upper 30's and low 40's. pretty decent chance for rain over the weekend. the temperatures will move back to the 50's by that time. >> another weather

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